Lighting fixture



Dec. 21, 1937. R. WENDEL LIGHTING FIXTURE Filed April 20, 1934 INVENTOR IPUflOLF l I/E/VQEL I ATTORNEYS WITNESS 4 ,m/W

Patented Dec. 21, 1937 arcane UNITED. STATES: PATENT OFFICE r meme. mx'runn Rudolf Wcnde Roslyn Heights, N. Y. Application April '20, 1934, Serial No. 7,21,442

' 4 Claims. (01. 240 -52.4)

10 shapeor form, such casing being so constructed and arranged that direct light is projected upon the surface of the wall which is thus made to act as a diffuser. .The lamp casing or casings forming part of the bracket structure are prefl5 erably so arranged that they are either .not'illuminated at all, and thus are sharply outlined against the more or less brilliantly lighted wall, or are illuminated by thelamp or lamps in one ormore of the associated casings, the sourceor sources.of light in either event being, however,

concealed and the whole arrangement thus pro-, ducing a very pleasing and artistic effect.

In one form of theinvention, thecasingsfor the lamps are made of opaque material in the 5 shape of 'a candle and are provided with sockets for receiving tubular incandescent lamps. The casings are; cut away upon the rear surfaces thereof, so that the light from the lamps has direct access to the wall upon which the bracket 30 is mounted, the lighting being thus indirect. .I'he cutout inthe casing or casings extends, however, only to such an extent circumferentially. that, while a considerable amount of light is projected upon the wall, the lamp is, however, not visible :5 to a personstanding in front of the lamp bracket. 'Ihe arcuate extent of the cut-out is preferably so determined that light is directed to a considerable portion of the wall and preferably to the ends of the wall, provided, of course, that 40 the incandescent lampremains concealed from a person in the room. The circumferential extent of the cut-out will depend upon the location of .the bracket; thus where the bracket is located in a corner, the cut-out may extend over a largerangular distance than when the bracket is mounted upon a side wall and yet permit the casing to conceal the lamp. v The invention will be further explained with the aid of the accompanying drawing which 50 shows by way of example an embodiment of the invention. In said drawing, 7

Fig. l is a front view of a three-candle lamp bracket constructed in accordance withthe invention; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section along the 5 line 2--2.oi Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through one of the lamp casings; Fig. Us a horizontal section along the line 4-4 'of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an elevation, looking from the rear, of a casing of distinctive shape constructed in accordance with the invention; and Fig. '6 shows 5: a modification. adapted for mounting at the corner of a room or similar location.

Referring to'the drawing, the numeral I indlcatesthe base or mounting of the bracket by which the latter may be attached to a wall Illa, l0 suitable means, not shown, being concealed withinsuch base for holding the bracket upon the wall. Three hollow arms ll extend symmetrically from the base H), such arms being made of glass, metal or other suitable material 1.5 and being provided, if desired, with pendants IE or other ornamental devices- Each of the arms terminates in an enlargement [3 upon which a plate-like ordished member I4 is adapted torest. A cup-shaped member or socket I is positioned within the member I 4' and houses, a base or plug l6 from which thereextendsupwardly a cylindrical element H which ;;is attached at its bottom to such plug, as by means of screws I8. Within the cylindrical element IT is fixed the socket l9 which is adapted to receive a tubular incandescent lamp 20, thesocket including a threadedlhollow stem 2| which cooperateswith tapped holes in the plug l6 and. enlargement l3 toclamp the parts in the position illustrated, a lock nut 22 being provided to hold the parts in fixed positionand to provide a larger supporting surface for the lamp 20 and thus increase the rigidity of the mounting of such lamp.

' A lamp casing 23 of distinctive shape and de- 5 sign, such as that oi a. candle, is removably mounted upon the cylindrical element [1, the parts being so dimensioned that the casing 23 fits snugly about such element. In accordance with the invention, the casing 23 is provided with 40 a cut-out 24 atvthe rear thereof, so that direct light from the lamp 20 is projected upon the wall or other surface adjacent to the bracket. As will be seen from Fig. 2, the arc of light emanating from each of the lamps '20 is determined by the vertical edges of the cut-outs 24, the cut-outs being of such circumferential extent that the incandescent lamp itself is concealed by the casing 23 when viewed from in front or at the side of the bracket. In the form of the invention illustrated the central lamp 20 illuminates the easings 23 at the sides thereof but itself remains unilluminated. If desired, the arcuate extent of the cut-out in the central casing 23 may be reduced to such a degree that the side casings 23 likewise remain unilluminated. I prefer, however, so to design the cut-outs that the direct light from each of the three lamps can reach as far as possible the ends of the wall upon which the bracket may be mounted, consistent, however, with the concealment of the incandescent lamps themselves from a person in the room. As can be seen from Fig. 2, the arcuate extent of cut-outs of the two side casings 23 is so dimensioned with reference to the relative position of such casings that direct light from neither casing strikes the other. To increase the candle-simulating effect, the cylindrical casings 23 may be provided with a plug 25 shaped to resemble the top portion of a candle, a wick 26 projecting from such plug. This effect is further carried out by the dished member l4 and socket I5, which give the impression of a base for a candle. It will be understood that the electrical conductors are concealed within the arms I l and pass through the hollow stems 2| to the socket of the lamp.

As will be seen from Fig. 2, the lamps are positioned a sufiicient distance forwardly of the wall to cause bright illumination of so large a wall area that substantially the whole of the casing is sharply silhouetted against the illumined surface.

To facilitate proper orienting of the casing, the latter is provided with a slot 21 which is adapted to be engaged by a pin 28 projecting through the element and anchored in the plug l6.

Fig. 6 illustrates a construction suitable for use at a corner of a room. It will be noted that the angle through which the cut-out portion of the casing 23 extends is much larger than in Fig. 2 and yet permits the remaining portion of the casing to conceal the incandescent lamp 2!) effectively. In this construction, parts of the walls above the dot and dash lines 29 in Fig. 6 will be brightly illuminated while the casing of the lamp will appear dark, thereby giving a pleasing indirect lighting effect.

It will be noted thatin each of the embodiments of the invention illustrated no reflector or other opaque obstruction interferes with the passage of light through the cut-out 24 to the wall to the rear thereof. This feature not only results in a simpler and less expensive construction but, in accordance with the objects of the invention, eliminates any glaring reflection of the lamp, and particularly of the filament thereof, so that such lamp remains invisible. To avoid further the passage of direct light into the room, the casing 23 is closed at its top and bottom, as illustrated. Thus only the wall is brightly illuminated, the lamp casing, and in fact the entire lamp fixture, being pleasingly silhouetted against the brilliant wall.

It will be understood that the principles of the present invention can be embodied in wall brackets of different design and within lamp casings of different distinctive shapes, and variations may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim: A

1. A lighting fixture adapted to be supported adjacent to a light reflecting and diifusing wall of a room and comprising a base, an arm extending from said base, a hollow tubular casingsupported by said arm, a socket within said casing adapted to receive an incandescent lamp, said casing being cut away at the rear thereof to enable direct light from the lamp to be projected upon the light reflecting and diffusing wall, the

cut-out being of such limited circumferential extent that the lamp is not visible from in front of the fixture, said casing being removable, and means for orienting said casing on said arm" to insure proper positioning of the cut-out in the casing with reference to said wall.

2. A lighting fixture adapted to be supported adjacent to a light reflecting and diffusing wall of a room and comprising a base, a dished member supported by said base, a block fixed to said member, a lamp casing having the shape ofa candle mounted on said member and including a hollow tubular element adapted to fit over said block, a socket within said element adapted to receive an incandescent lamp, said tubular element being cut away at the rear thereof to enable direct light from the lamp to be projected upon the light reflecting and diffusing wall, the cut-out being of such limited circumferential extent that the lamp is not visible from in front of the fixture, and a pin and slot connection on said element and block for orienting the same relatively to each other for properly positioning the cut-out with reference to said wall.

3. A lighting fixture adapted to be supported adjacent to the dull, light-diffusing wall of a room and comprising a base for attaching the fixture to the Wall, three lamp casings having the shape of a candle and supported by said base in symmetrical relationship, one casing being at each side of the base and the third between the other two, as viewed from in front of the fixture, each casing including a substantially opaque hollow tubular cylinder closed at its top and bottom, and a socket within each of said casings for receiving an incandescent lamp, said tubular members being cut away at the rear thereof to such a limited circumferential extent that the lamps are not visible from in front of the fixture, the arcuate extent of the cut-outs of the two side casings being so'dimensioned with reference to the relative position of the casings, that neither casing is illuminated by direct light from the other, said fixture affording substantially unobstructed passage for light to the dull, lightdiffusing surface and thereby enabling direct light from the lamps to be projected upon said light-diffusing surface, whereby the casings are silhouetted against the illuminated surface while no image of the sources of light is reflected into the room, the sources of light thus remaining invisible.

4. A lighting fixture adapted to be supported from the dull, lightdifiusing, surface of the wall of a room and comprising a base for attaching the fixture to the wall, an arm supported by and extending from said base, the end of the arm remote from the base extending vertically upwards and terminating in a tapped element, a plate-like member resting on said tapped element, a socket member on'said plate-like member and extending above the latter, a tapped plug within the socket member, a hollow tubular casing slipped over said plug and held in position thereon, a lamp socket within said casing adapted to receive an incandescent lamp and having a threaded hollow stem passing through the plug, socket member and plate-like member and screwed into the tapped element of the arm to clamp the several parts together, said casing being cut away at the rear thereof to enable direct light from the lamp to be projected upon the light-diffusing wall, the cut-out being of such limited circumferential extent that the lamp is not visible from in front of the fixture, said fixture afiording substantially unobstructed passage for light to the light-diffusing surface and thereby enabling direct light from the lamp to be projected upon such surface, said casing being otherwise closed to limit the external illumination substantially to the wall surface to the rear of the casing, said arm extending forwardly of the wall a distance sumoient to cause bright illumination of so large a wall area to the rear of the casing that substantially the Whole of the casing is sharply silhouetted against the illuminated surface while no image of the source of light is reflected into the room, the source of light thus re- 5 maining invisible. RUDOLF WENDEL. 

